


A Sound in the Night

by DrkValkyrie



Series: Paranormal Merlin Whump! [1]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Angst and Feels, Arthur Finds Out About Merlin's Magic (Merlin), Caring Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Hurt Merlin (Merlin), Hurt/Comfort, I Will Go Down With This Ship, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, M/M, Merlin Needs a Hug (Merlin), Protective Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-18
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-09 06:02:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 21,485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27309631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DrkValkyrie/pseuds/DrkValkyrie
Summary: When an unknown killer makes its way into Camelot, Merlin finds himself the unknowing target. Will Arthur and the Knight's be able to put the clues together in time to save their friend? Or will the sins of his past claim him once and for all?
Relationships: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Series: Paranormal Merlin Whump! [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1993906
Comments: 24
Kudos: 370
Collections: Tavernfest Round 1: Ghosts and Hauntings





	A Sound in the Night

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Sorrow of the Mourning](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26881627) by [brightem28](https://archiveofourown.org/users/brightem28/pseuds/brightem28). 



> HAPPY HALLOWEEN! I’m so glad I managed to get this out in time! 
> 
> This is my first Merlin fic, first fic written since probably 2105, and my fist ever fic posted to this site. Three firsts! Yay.  
> Warning for graphic details of death and wounds and non-graphic boyXboy. Merthur. 
> 
> I actually had some major help from Merthur She Wrote. They helped me a lot with grammatical errors, added most of the more detailed descriptions in the story and even came up with some really good ideas for the story. Please check them out.
> 
> This fic was inspired by brightem28 's fic Sorrow of the Mourning. I really recommend it. 
> 
> I'd like to give a proper big thanks to Brightem28 and Merthur She Wrote, this fic wouldn't have been possible without ya'll! 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

It was a silent, peaceful night in the city of Camelot.

Shadows fell across the abandoned streets as the people took refuge under their warm blankets, sheltering from the crisp autumn winds while few guards made their rounds.  
Within a small house in the lower town one light glows in a window as a young man remains awake, tired eyes alert and darting around the room at an unnatural speed. His shaggy blonde hair was soaked with sweat, sticking to his head and face. Long and slender shaking hands gripped a small boker knife, his already pale skin white at the knuckles.

The man remained huddled in the corner of his room between his worn bed and the wall, back pressed against the structure, eyes darting between the door and boarded up window above the bed as if waiting for something. Even though he knew there were others outside his door, a whole city outside his window, he could hear nothing but his own ragged breaths, which he desperately tried to suppress as he hid in the light. His lungs burned with the effort to keep quiet, and he could feel his racing heart beating as though it was trying to escape the confines of his chest out of fear, out of his need to escape.

But there was nowhere to run.

The man yelped out when the sound of a woman’s wail erupted from outside the window, so loud he dropped the knife in an attempt to shield his ears from the piercing sound, not noticing the slice of pain as the edge of the blade slid against the side of his leg as it fell. He shut his eyes tightly, not willing to look outside where he knew whatever was making the sound was waiting.

“Please!” he cried out, his voice barely audible to his own ears over the wail that seemed to only increase in volume as if whoever was making it was getting closer.  
“Leave me alone.” Tears leaked from his eyes as his breathing increased ten fold as the wails only continued without mercy. “It wasn’t my fault.”

The wails suddenly relented, leaving the man in blissful silence once again.

Green eyes shadowed by dark rings of gray forced themselves open, distrustful of the sudden disappearance of the haunting cries. Forgetting the knife, the man forced himself to his feet and inches over towards the window. He peers outside to the square, struggling to see from the contrast of light inside the room. Cupping his hands around his eyes to block out the light, he presses his face up against the glass to get a better view. The roads outside his room remained empty, no trace of any woman.  
He let out a sigh of relief as he turned from the window. His eyes grew impossibly wide as his mouth opened.

”No…” he muttered before letting out a shriek of utter terror before the light of the candles snuffed out, leaving the room in total darkness as the clouds blocked out any moonlight that had previously shone through.

The peaceful night was shattered as the man’s screams filled the darkness.  
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The room was cramped with knights as the court physician examined the body of recently deceased Harold Manson. The darkness of the night still covered the city, many now awake to get a look at the scene only to be ushered back to their own homes by guards.

Merlin stood opposite of the body from Gaius as the older man performed his duties. He was not a stranger to death. He’d seen knights killed in battle, and those who succumbed to their wounds days after. He’d seen illnesses that swept through the lower town, striking down infants and the elderly alike. He’d seen executions, magical plagues, the remains left behind after a wild beast or magical creature had attacked. Even as a child he’d seen the bloated body of his favorite cow, three days after it had gone missing in the heat of summer. But he’d never seen anything like this.

The body was propped against the bed while long legs sprawled outwards. He looked as if he had been physically drained of all life, his skin dry and gray, withered and sunken as bones were easily visible under skin that seemed to wrap over them snugly. In places the skin was split, like leather dried too quickly, exposing the muscles beneath the flesh that now more closely resembled jerky. Luckily, the man’s clothes hid the damage to any organs that may have been exposed, which the faint odor of bowel suggested to be the case.  
But it was his face Merlin couldn’t drag his eyes from. 

The eyelids were desiccated and peeled back from the two gaping holes that held what used to be the man’s eyes, but were now shriveled like raisins, dark and hard with clotted blood, but with the once vibrant green of the iris still discernible on the wrinkled surface. His hair was leached of all color, leaving behind balding, grey hair as large strands littered the floor around him, and his jaw hung impossibly wide, a silent witness of his last scream. His gums had shriveled back exposing his teeth, to the root in some places, teeth even having crumbled from their places in others. Blood congealed where it had once oozed from his nose, ears, gums, and the inner corners of his eyes in a sickening parody of tears.

Suddenly, Merlin got the feeling someone was watching him. He looked around and saw no one but Gaius and a couple of guards off to the corner of the room- none of which was paying the ward any attention.

Gaius was inspecting an extensive wound on the leg of the corpse, explaining his supposition that the flesh that had been torn apart had once been but a minor cut, the drying and shrinking of the flesh causing a fissure deep enough to expose bone. It was amid this explanation that Arthur entered the room, the open door allowing them to hear the sobs from the two remaining family members downstairs. 

Arthur took a moment to compose himself before clearing his throat, drawing the attention to the physician and his apprentice.

“Your majesty,” Gaius acknowledged and he stood from his crouching position next to the body.

“What say you, Gaius? This is the third case this month,” the young king questioned as he drew his attention away from the deceased.

“I am unsure, Sire. The guards who found him claimed they heard screams coming from the house mere moments before rushing in to find him like this. This is nothing like I’ve ever seen,” Gaius explained, “These bodies have all been found in a state as if they have been dead for months at least. But every one was found either minutes or hours after death. It makes no sense,” Gaius concluded.

Arthur growled out, “We can’t keep going on without answers, Gaius! This sorcerer is killing my people and I will not let this act go unpunished.” Gaius looked at the king, his brow raising at the young man, making the blonde falter.

“We don’t know that it’s a sorcerer, Arthur,” Merlin intervened. “If it were a sorcerer Gaius would have found something by now that would have had this effect, but we haven’t found a single thing that comes close to causing this kind of death.”

Arthur glares at his manservant, “What else could it be, Merlin?” he shot. “Nothing but the evils of magic could be involved in this. Sorcerers are evil, conniving creatures. If anyone could cause death like this-” He waved a hand in the direction of the body next to the warlock “-it’s a sorcerer.”

The room fell into an awkward silence, Merlin pursing his lips shut, trying to block out the pain caused by the words.

Noticing his wards uneasiness and pain, the older man cleared his throat. “Now sire, I will do all I can to find the cause of these deaths, but in order for me to accomplish this feat, I need to keep all options open. We can’t afford to limit our sight by blaming the easiest option.”

Arthur deflated at the old man’s words. “You’re right, Gaius. I’m sorry,” Arthur apologized before collecting himself. “What is it you need?”

“I need for someone to transport the body to my chambers so I can further examine him along with the other two. Maybe I can find something between the three that can reveal why they were targeted.”

Arthur nodded before leaving as he ordered the guards in the corner to get the body transported.

Once the two were alone, the old physician turned to the raven haired boy who remained silent, hurt obvious to him despite how the boy tried to hide it. Sighing, Gaius walked over to the boy, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

“It’ll be alright, my boy,” he assured him as sad eyes looked at him. “One day he will see all you’ve done for him. Give him time.”

Merlin looked as if he didn’t believe him, instead opting to shrug off the hand and leaving the room as two guards entered to take the body away.  
“My boy,” Gaius sighed out, hating to see the young boy in pain.  
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

That afternoon, Merlin went about his chores as he shuffled around the king’s empty quarters. He let his mind wander as he systematically stored away Arthur’s clothes. Ever since his father’s death, Arthur has understandably been even more distrustful of magic.

It was thanks to the events with Elyan that the blonde king even made peace with druids, which Merlin felt conflicted with. On one hand, Arthur was already proving to be a far better and fairer king than his father, and Merlin couldn’t have been more proud. On the other hand, Merlin’s sole purpose was to help Arthur come around to magic, yet he had nothing to do with the progress he had made with the druids. Instead Merlin seemed to fail at every turn, only succeeding at solidifying Arthur’s belief that all magic was evil.  
He scoffed to himself. ‘A dead druid boy has done more for Arthur’s destiny in two days than I have in years,’ he thought sourly as he hung Arthur’s last shirt in the wardrobe.  
The raven sighed, letting his shoulders slump in a way he refused to allow while in the presence of others, especially Arthur. 

He began to take on the appearance of someone who was completely drained, as if the weight of the world fell on their shoulders with no one to share the burden with.

He allowed himself to think back on all he lost since coming to Camelot, of all he lost because of him not being enough. Will, Freya, his father... The many people who died because of his naivety in trusting a dragon who he had been so sure was manipulating him since the beginning, but he’d been too scared to be alone with no one to turn to that he ignored the signs until it was too late.

“Am I really meant to bring magic back to Camelot? Or was that just another way to get me to do his bidding? How can I be a savior when all I do is make things worse?” he whispered to the empty room. Maybe Uther and Arthur were right and he was evil.

He didn’t have time to dwell on these thoughts as the door flew open, and a clearly fuming Arthur strutted into the room before throwing himself into his chair.  
Merlin let out a soft chuckle, making his way over to the table before stopping behind the king.

“Rough meeting?” He asked as he slid his arms around the chair and over tense shoulders before wrapping the king in a light hug, the king relaxing to the touch almost instantly.  
“The council is all over me to send out manhunts for someone we don’t know the identity of. The people are panicking, afraid they or a loved one will be next and we still have no clue who or what is responsible.” Arthur sighed. “If this keeps going, we’ll have another death by the end of the week with no clue how to stop it.”  
Merlin hugged the man tighter as he deflated further into his embrace.

He knew the stress Arthur was feeling. It had been three weeks since the first death, and he and Gaius were no closer to figuring out the cause. Merlin had attempted to stake out potential victims, but every victim was too different from the last, making it near impossible to tell what it was the killer was looking for.

The first had been Katie Willhelm, the daughter of a lord in the upper town. She had been a kind girl, from what Merlin witnessed the few encounters he had with the young woman. The black haired woman seemed to have no enemies. She had been in her early twenties when she died, much like the last victim only minutes after her death as her father had heard her screams. The man had tried to break into the room as he heard the girls' cries but he exclaimed that the door seemed to be bolted shut. As soon as her screams died out and the guards appeared the door was forced open with ease and she was dead.

The second was an older man, Cain Reeves, a retired knight who kept to himself and tended to scare people off with his permanent scowl. The man was bulky and large for an old man, his once red hair dimmed to a light shade of orange before his death. He had no living family or friends, Katie. He had been found in the armory in the early hours or the morning as the first knights went to prepare for training.

The warlock and physician theorized that it could have been after the two, maybe they knew each other, or had something in common. But no matter how much Merlin dug around, he could find nothing suggesting the two had anything in common. And the idea they knew each other somehow which was disproved by the girl’s father who claimed they knew nothing about the knight except for that he was retired.

Things got even more complicated for the two when the most recent victim appeared. Harold had been a peasant, he lived with his mother and younger sister, the latter being unfortunate to find the body moments before the guards showed up to investigate.

Neither of the other victims visited the lower town and Harold would have not come into contact with the upper town so would not have met the others. That left Merlin and Gaius left clueless.

“We’ll stop it, Arthur.” He whispered into his golden hair. “They can’t stay hidden forever. We’ll catch them.”

“But how many more must die before that happens?” Arthur asked.

For once, Merlin didn’t have an answer. Instead the raven haired man walked around the chair, kneeling in front of the distraught king. Looking at the man, Merlin didn’t see a king, instead what he saw was a man who cared deeply for his people, a man hurting because of the fact he could do nothing to stop the deaths of the ones he sought to protect.  
Leaning forward, Merlin placed a small, chaste kiss on his king’s lips who in turn returned the gesture with tenderness. Breaking apart, Merlin stared into blue eyes.

“Don’t lose hope. Gaius is working hard to find some connection between the victims. We have to have faith in him.” Merlin comforted. “Gaius has never once failed you, and I know he doesn’t plan to now. You will see, Arthur, we’ll stop this from happening again.”

Arthur gave Merlin a small smile, the worry still present but lightened by Merlin’s assurance.

“Sometimes you surprise me, Merlin.” He smirked, causing the warlock to grin.

“Well, that’s what I’m here for, My lord.” He mock bowed at the title, earning an eye roll.

The two continued their bantering while Merlin prepared the king for bed. The two kissed goodnight and Merlin left to the physician's quarters to assist Gaius.  
Merlin entered the room to find Gaius hovering over the body of Harold. “Found anything yet, Gaius?” He questioned as he moved closer.

Gaius frowned, shaking his head. “I have never seen anything like this and there is nothing in any of my books to suggest any natural causes nor any spell I can find that would cause such a quick deterioration of the body.” He explained.

“Two of the victims were heard by someone being killed, Gaius. I do think Arthur is on to something about it being a sorcerer. Because only a sorcerer would be able to vanish without a trace seconds before the body would be found. The problem is, we have no clue who is doing this or how they are choosing their targets. Nor do we know what kind of spell they are using to create such a short and painful death like this one.” Gaius sighed.

Merlin looked at his guardian, the old man looked drained. Merlin knew the physician was doing his best to determine the cause of death and was losing a lot of sleep over it. Merlin spoke up,” You should sleep, Gaius. You won’t be able to continue on like this.”

The old man shook his head in denial, “I need to look through more books. There has to be something in one of them.”  
“I’ll go to the library and do it. You need rest, Gaius.” Merlin insisted.

“What about you, my boy?” Gaius pointed out,” You’ve been out nearly every night since the first death. You need rest sometime as well.”

Merlin waved him off,” I’ll be fine. I’m used to late nights. I can handle it. I promise I won’t be out too late. Besides, I can use my magic to make the research go a bit faster.”  
Gaius sighed but caved,” Okay, my boy. But make sure you don’t stay out all night. And don’t get caught.”

Merlin nodded before walking out the room.  
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Hours passed in silence, the only source of light coming from the small glowing orb floating above the current book in his hands. The warlock had been through several books on magical creatures and spells in the forbidden section and still he found nothing. The warlock began to get frustrated as he continued to find absolutely nothing of use.

The bell struck, indicating midnight had approached, snapping Merlin out of his research. He looked out the window to find it pitch black outside. He decided he would continue his search tomorrow night and stood up. Stretching, Merlin closed the book he had been reading and placed it back in its spot on the shelf.

Merlin snuck out of the library and made his way through the streets, careful to avoid any guards making their routes. He had just made it to Gaius’ chambers when he heard a woman crying.

Snapping into action, the warlock looked around the area for the source of the crying. He was certain the crying was coming from outside, yet no matter how close the voice sounded he couldn’t see anyone.

“Hello?” Merlin called out to the crying voice, “Where are you?” He continued to look around when a hand suddenly grabbed his shoulder, startling the young warlock so bad he jumped and let out a squeak at the contact.

He turned around to come face to face with “Leon,” he sighed out in relief. The man gave the servant a concerned look.  
“Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you, Merlin.”

“It’s all good.” Merlin replied,” Are you investigating the crying as well?” He asked.

Leon furrowed his brow in confusion, cocking his head to the side. “What crying?”

Shocked, Merlin continued, “That crying…” Before realizing the crying had stopped.

“Merlin, you alright?” Leon questioned.

When Merlin didn't respond the knight continued.

“I didn’t hear any crying. I happened to be making my rounds around the area when I saw you standing here. I tried to call your name, but you weren’t responding. I got worried and grabbed your shoulder.” He explained, Merlin grew pale, but shook off the growing nerves.

“I guess I must have just been hearing things. I haven’t been sleeping much lately. Thanks for snapping me out of it.” Merlin grinned, hoping to keep the older man from worrying.

“What were you doing out here anyway, Merlin? If it had been any other guard you could have been dragged to the dungeon til morning with the curfew and all.”

“Sorry, Leon,” Merlin explained,” I was doing some research for Gaius and I ended up staying out later than intended.”

Leon nodded. “I’ll walk you back to Gaius’ so you don’t have to worry about the guards.”

“The guards aren’t really a problem for me.” Merlin mumbled under his breath. Grinning at the thought of how many times he managed to sneak right past a guard or two even without magic.

“What was that?” Leon asked, brow lifting as if he thought he heard one thing but wasn’t sure enough to comment on it.

“I said thanks for not throwing me in the dungeon.” Merlin grinned at the older knight.

Leon, not completely believing the statement, brushed it off and gave a subtle smile, “No problem. We don’t want the king to go without his servant later than usual. Training would be a nightmare.”

Merlin grinned as the two walked towards his chambers in a calming silence.

“By the way,” Leon broke the quiet, “How are those private poetry lessons going.”

Merlin faltered, choking back a surprised sound, staring at the knight who gave the younger man a sly grin. Blushing, Merlin turned away in embarrassment and sped up his walk to a slight jog.

He heard Leon laugh as he pushed open the door to the chambers.

“Goodnight, Merlin.” Leon smiled.

Merlin turned to his friend and gave him a smile back. “Thank you, Leon. Goodnight.”

He silently made his way past Gaius’ bed and up to his room. He threw himself into bed where he lied away, thinking about the cries he heard. ‘Could I have really imagined that?’ He thought.

Brushing off the odd feeling from the event, he turned to the wall and allowed himself to fall asleep, unaware of the figure watching him from the window.  
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Merlin awoke in a bad mood, something rare for the warlock despite the numerous sleepless nights. After he laid down to sleep, the warlock felt as though he was being watched but never found a trace of anyone or anything. After a few hours of fruitless attempts at sleep, he gave up on the idea entirely.

He made his way downstairs to find Gaius awake and tending to breakfast. Gaius, hearing the creaking of the stairs, turned and was shocked to see his ward already away. Upon closer inspection he noticed dark rings around the boys drooping eyes.

“Merlin! What time did you get back in? I told you not to stay out all night.” Gaius’ tried to sound disapproving but instead the concern bleed through.

“I didn’t.” Was Merlin’s mumbled response, earning an unbelieving brow raise from the physician.

“Honest,” Merlin defended, “I was on my way back by midnight, you can ask Leon.”

Gaius let the comment about being seen after curfew slide, realizing his ward didn’t need a lecture at the moment.

“Then why do you look as if you haven’t slept a wink all night?” Gaius questioned.

Merlin shrugged, not wanting to worry his guardian but knowing he wouldn’t be able to completely lie to the man. Instead he replied, “Just had a weird feeling and it wouldn’t go away.”

Curious, Gaius gave him the brow, a signal Merlin knew to mean he had to continue.

“Well, It just kept feeling like I was being watched but every time I looked there was nothing there.”

The old man furrowed his brow in concern, but before he could think about the exclamation Merlin continued.

“I think it was just cuz I haven’t slept much these last few weeks. I’ll see if Arthur will let me off earlier today so I can go to bed sooner tonight. I won’t be much help if I’m constantly thinking I’m hearing or seeing things.”

“Seeing things?” Gaius repeated, his curiosity and concern growing. Seeming to realize his slip up, Merlin excused himself, claiming he didn’t want to be late to tend to Arthur.

As he left, the old man glanced out the window to find the sun still not completely risen. Something was wrong and he would get to the bottom of it, but for now he had to focus on other matters.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Merlin sighed in relief as he leaned up against a pillar. He hadn’t realized how early it had been and knew it had looked suspicious since he left in such a hurry. But Merlin really didn’t want Gaius to pry into his problems when he already had so many other things to focus on.

Shaking his head, Merlin decided to go about his duties and try and forget the previous night.

Arthur was shocked to say the least, when Merlin entered the room, a plate full of actual hot food and the sun just rising above the horizon. The king noticed his lover’s tiredness and had tried to get the other to open up, but Merlin shook off his questions with his usual, ‘I’m fine.’ and ‘just didn’t sleep well.’.

Arthur knew the younger man could be just as stubborn as he was so he decided not to press, instead lightening his workload a bit in hopes it would help.

Merlin went through the day like normal, his body waking up around lunch time when he and Arthur ate together and discussed anything other than the deaths. Merlin could tell the king was really stressed and tried his best to lessen it however he could and Arthur appreciated it more than he shared.

That afternoon Arthur let Merlin retire early, making sure the other knew he was to be present bright and early as they had plans to go out to the lower town and have another look at the last murder scene.

So Merlin laid his head into his pillow, expecting a long night's sleep for the first time in months.

He laid in bed for what seemed like hours, sleep eluding him every time he started to drift off. The sun had long since set and he knew the majority of the city were probably fast asleep, something he wished would come for him soon. He dreaded the thought of having to go another night with absolutely no sleep. But every time he started to fall into the sweet embrace of darkness a feeling of being watched overcame him, snapping him back to the world with a jolt.

He tried to ignore the feeling this time, knowing he was more than likely imagining it as he had the night before.

Somewhere within the silence of the night a noise broke out, causing the warlock to shoot up. His heart pounded as he strained his ears in an attempt to listen for the sound.  
Within minutes he could hear the sound of choked sobs. He briefly wondered who would be outside crying before he realized his room was far above the courtyard and wouldn’t be heard so the sound should be coming from the direction of his door- but he was certain it came from right outside his window.

He lay in bed, paralyzed as he listened to the sobs growing in volume and intensity. He tried to tell himself he was just hearing things again, but he couldn’t quite believe it. The voice was the same as the night before and this time he was certain he wasn’t imaging it.

Unable to fight the urge to look, Merlin pulled the covers off and stood. He walked cautiously over to the window. When he looked out he could see the empty courtyard, distant torches reflecting off silver walls and cobbled floors. The glow of the torches and gentle stream of moonlight gave him just enough light for Merlin to make out a lone figure off to the edge of the courtyard where the gate stood. 

He peered closer, struggling to make out any details he could. He noticed the figure was wrapped in a dark cloak, the hood raised to obscure their face. This had to be the woman he’d been hearing, he decided. The nervousness returned when he realized he could clearly hear her cries as if she were in the same room, but it couldn’t be.

He needed to figure out why this woman was out on the streets of Camelot in the dark of night, wailing as if her world was ending in the worst possible way. Without thinking, Merlin threw on his cloak and shoes before rushing out the chambers.

Her cries echoed off the walls as he made his way down the corridor and around the corner to the courtyard. As soon as he entered the courtyard the wailing just stopped as if they had never happened. He looked around, panic flaring. 

He found no trace of the woman, but he knew she had been right there. He heard the cries up until the moment he arrived and he knew it never moved.

“Hello!” He called out, thinking maybe he scared the woman into hiding when he showed up. “Miss? Please come out. I’m not going to hurt you. I just want to help.” When he received no answer chills settled in his bones.

He continued to scan the courtyard for a few more minutes before giving up and returning to his room.

As soon as his figure disappeared from the courtyard, a lone figure appeared where he once stood. Torn cloak flowing with the crisp breeze, white, soulless eyes peering from beneath the hood.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Merlin groaned from his bed, having once again gotten barely any sleep. He still felt unsettled by the previous events. Who or whatever this woman was, it was obvious no one else could hear her. Did that mean he was just going crazy and seeing things. That would be bad, he decided. He needed to focus on helping Gaius identify the cause of the current string of deaths. 

He knew they were low on time and he couldn’t afford to let this interfere with the investigation.

Letting out a sound of discomfort, Merlin pulled himself out of bed, once again beating the sun. He decided if he couldn’t sleep, he would head into the library and do more research before tending to Arthur. 

With a plan made, he dressed and made his way over to the library.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The day proceeded slowly for Merlin. He woke Arthur, who didn’t seem to notice Merlin’s lack of sleep. Thankfully adrenalin caught up with the tired warlock and he was able to carry himself without falling asleep where he stood.

The council meeting was just as fruitless as the last, with demands for a witch hunt being shot down time and time again.

Arthur was annoyed, to say the least, as he, Merlin, Leon and Gwaine made their way to Manson house. The mother and sister having moved out of the home to live with a family friend on the other side of Camelot, unable to remain in the place where their lives were permanently ruined.

As they approached the house, Arthur turned to the knights, “Make sure that every inch of the house is examined thoroughly. If you find anything, report to me immediately.” The knights nodded as they made their way into the house.

“Why bring so many knights to search a small house like this? Especially since you already had other knights search the place” Merlin questioned as they stood at the entrance.

“Because, it’ll be easy for one or two people to overlook something. It’s better to have more people to go back over an area to be sure nothing was missed.” Arthur answered.

Merlin nodded. It made sense, but Merlin found his lack of sleep making itself known as he stifled a yawn. Arthur gave him a weird look.

“Didn’t you sleep last night, Merlin?” He questioned. Merlin made an attempt to reply when something caught his attention.

“Poor woman. To lose her son like that.” A middle aged woman spoke to another, slightly younger woman with long flowing black hair. Her skin was unnaturally pale, as if she had just been through a serious illness.

“I agree, but good riddance to him. The boy was nothing but trouble. If anyone deserved a death like that it’s him.” The second woman replied, earning a hesitant nod from the first.

This drew the duo’s attention. Nodding at each other, Merlin and Arthur made their way across the street. The women gasped out in shock when the king of Camelot approached them.

“Your majesty!” They bowed frantically only for Arthur to hold his hand out in a manor to stop them. The first woman was short, faded red locks messily pulled back into a tired bun. 

“Please, no need for that.” He said nicely. “I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation. Pardon us for eavesdropping, my ladies.” He bowed slightly, the women gasping and blushing a deep red.

“What did you mean when you said the young man deserved his death?” Merlin cut in, keeping his voice kind, not wanting the women to close up with fear.  
The women became hesitant to answer so Arthur cut in, “You said he caused trouble. What kind of trouble?”

The first woman spoke up, “Well you see, my lord, my name is Lilith and this is Grace. We’ve lived here for years and have known the boy since he was about 16 summers. Their family had just moved in about a year before it happened. He made friends with Grace’s son,” She gestured to the second woman who became silent with a shadow over her face, ”Thick as thieves, they were. But the boy liked to cause trouble. It started off as small pranks here and there. But Merek noticed that Harold started to go too far when the boy’s prank resulted in the injury of another young boy and the ruffian didn’t care at all.” She paused, seeming to be unsure how to continue.

“Well, Merek told Grace what had happened and Grace forbade him from hanging around that boy. But Harold kept coming around, trying to get Merek alone with him. He was angry that Merek stopped being friends with him. It was scary, he would show up in random places and threaten Grace and Merek, often setting up little traps to harm them, luckily Merek spotted and managed to disarm them before someone got hurt.”

Arthur and Merlin were shocked by what they were hearing, from what his mother had told the king, Harold had been a quiet boy who went out of his way to help others and tended to their little vegetable stand in the market when she had been unable to.

“Well one day, Merek had had enough. Grace was so overfilled with fear and barely left the house in fear of what the boy would do. Merek confronted the Manson boy alone...and well they got into a scuffle and Merek was slammed to the ground and cracked his head.”

Arthur was appalled at the story, Merlin, however, felt something was off voiced his thoughts.

“If he was responsible for Merek’s death, then why weren’t the authorities involved? Surely he could have been taken off the streets if he was such a danger?”

The women gave the raven haired boy a dirty look before quickly replacing it with that of sadness and grief. The change was so fast Merlin thought he had imagined it.

“We had no proof the Manson boy was responsible for his death. There were no witnesses. The guard who found him wrote it off as an accident, the boy claimed my boy was intoxicated and had attacked him!” Grace snapped. “Can you believe that! The boy who murdered my son in cold blood got to live a free man thanks to that lie of his! I’m glad he’s dead!”

“Grace!” Lilith gasped, taking the frantic woman by her shoulders. “Sire, may I?” She nodded to a nearby house. Understanding her question the king nodded.

“Yes, please. I’m so sorry to bring up such a bad memory. I am sorry for your loss.” The women nodded before walking away.

Merlin stared at the women, the feeling of something being off wouldn’t leave his thoughts. “Excuse me,” He called out to the women who turned to face him, questioning stares from the three people as Merlin continued,” Would either of you happen to know a Katie Willhelm, or Cain Reeves?”

The two women looked at the boy as if he’d grown a second head.

“Not that I can recall.” The first woman answered, unsure why he asked. Grace looked equally confused before shaking her head.

“Ok, sorry for the hold up.” Merlin apologized. He stared off into space, deep in thought.

Arthur stared at the raven. “I know that look, Merlin. What’s wrong.”

Shaking his head he replied, ”I’m not sure, but something doesn't seem right. I can’t place my finger on it. Something about her felt...off.”

Arthur nodded, “I agree. I spoke with Ms. Manson myself, and she seemed genuine about her son being a kind and caring son and brother. But Grace also seemed genuine with her grief. Something’s not adding up. “

“Maybe we should revisit Ms. Manson. Maybe she remembers the name of the guard who handled the case. I also think we should re-interview other victims. If this is anything, it could be what we’ve been missing.” Merlin suggested.

The knights exited the house, seeing the two on the opposite of the street, they made their way over.

“We couldn’t find anything out of the ordinary, sire.” Leon reported.

Arthur nodded, “We may have stumbled on to something. It may be nothing but it’s worth a look into.” The knights nodded and the group went to return to the castle.  
Arthur sent Merlin to Gaius to clue the physician in on what they learned while he sent for Leon to retrieve Ms. Manson and bring her to the throne room.

“Merlin!” Gaius shouted as the boy entered the chambers. His head pounded from the unexpected noise but he pushed back a reaction in order to convey their findings.

“My boy, where were you this morning? You were not in your chambers when I woke and I worried if something had happened.” Oh. Merlin had completely forgotten he left long before the older man had even awoken, forgetting to even leave a note.

“Sorry, Gaius. I woke up early and decided to try and get more research in.” He explained, not a complete lie.

Gaius sighed, seeming to accept the excuse.

“Anyway, We think we may have finally stumbled on to something.” With that Gaius looked at his ward in surprise. “We can’t be sure of anything right now, but from what we learned one of the victims had apparently been the cause of his childhood friend’s death after the two had a falling out. Logically, if this is true, that can tie him in with Reeves. As a retired knight he would have been involved with the deaths of others. Arthur will talk to Ms. Manson again to see if she can get the name of the guard who took charge of the other boy’s death. As for Katie Willhelm, Arthur is having one of the knights question her father to find out if she may have been directly involved with someone’s death.”

Gaius looked thoughtful. “So whoever is doing this could be targeting people who have killed another. It’s a bit vague, Merlin. If that’s the case then any knight of Camelot could be a target. Even Arthur could be a target.” Merlin nodded.

“I’ve considered that as well, but what if the person is specifically looking for deaths caused outside of duty? Or just if their deaths are unjust in some way. But either way, it is a start. It’s better than the nothing we’ve had for weeks.” Gaius nodded, still looking thoughtful.

“I considered that the killer could have been Ms. Grace, but if that were the case and even if she were a sorceress powerful enough to do something like that, why wait nearly 5 years to take revenge for her son’s death. And she had no clue who Katie and Cain were, so why kill them? Something isn’t adding up, but I can’t quite put my finger on it.”

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Merlin attended to the king, the blond going on about something Merlin found himself unable to follow. Ever since returning from the lower town he felt all of his energy drain away until he was left struggling to stay on his feet.

“...lin!” Arthur’s voice broke through his hazed filled mind.

He tried to force himself to focus in on Arthur’s voice and strained his eyes to focus on whatever he was looking at.

“Merlin!” Oh, he was looking at Arthur. He apparently zoned out sometime during their conversation. “Are you listening to me?”

Blinking away the drowsiness, Merlin found he was sitting on Arthur’s bed, Arthur kneeling in front of him with a look of concern written all over his face.  
“Sorry, must have zoned out there.” Now if only he could remember how and when he got in Arthur’s bed.

“That’s an understatement.” Arthur scoffed. “It was like you were in a completely different world. One minute we’re talking about the audience with Ms. Manson and then I come to realize I’ve been talking to myself for nearly twenty minutes. Seriously, Merlin, when was the last time you slept.” He questioned, his tone leaving no room for half truths.

Merlin had to think for a moment, struggling to remember the last few days. “Umm. I think two... or three days.” His voice kept trailing off as he tried to fight off the drowsiness threatening to overtake him once again.

Arthur sighed, heavy with annoyance and concern. “What was the point of me sending you out early if you were just going to stay up all night anyway?”

Merlin just shrugged lazily, eyes fighting to stay open but failing. ‘S’was a woman...in the courtyard...crying. Couldn’t sleep.” Merlin mumbled in a sleepy haze, his words barely forming a coherent sentence.

‘There’s been no reports from any patrol.’ He thought. Believing Merlin’s statement to be an illusion from a sleep induced rambling Arthur decided it was time for the younger boy to get some rest.

“Come on.” Arthur muttered, more to himself than his nearly sleeping manservant. “Let’s get you to bed.” With a tenderness the king seldom showed outside of closed doors, Arthur guided Merlin back into the bed, removing the others shoes and jacket before tucking the blankets snugly around the boy.

Merlin found himself asleep within seconds of his head hitting the soft pillow.  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Wailing snapped Merlin from his pleasant sleep. Merlin shot up, heart racing from the sudden stimulation. The wailing was much louder than the previous nights, it was almost like screaming now and Merlin found himself nearing tears.

He just wanted to sleep. He didn’t know who the woman was or why she kept crying every night or why no one else seemed to hear her. But at that moment all he cared about was sleeping, but his stupid moral compass refused to let him ignore the cries so he pulled himself out of bed only to realize he wasn’t in his own bed.

Noticing Arthur’s sleeping form in the king sized bed, Merlin gave a small smile before the wailing cut through his thoughts. Groaning, Merlin walked over to the window, peering out to the courtyard.

Just as he expected, the woman was once again down there. Without hesitating or stopping to throw on his coat and shoes, Merlin bolted from the room.

The wails bounced off the walls, so intense Merlin felt his head would split from the sound, but he refused to acknowledge it. He burst into the courtyard and looked to the spot where the figure stood. Sure enough, the woman remained in the courtyard this time.

Now closer, he could make out more details. The cloak remained over her face as her head remained tilted downwards. Her shoulders shook from the intense sobbing, hands gripping her shoulders in a vain attempt to comfort he figured. He could see her small, dainty hands. He noticed that long black hair flowed from under the hood, drifting in the breeze.

Suddenly, Merlin realized just how cold it was and regretted not putting on his jacket or shoes. Cold stone burned on his bare feet but Merlin found he couldn’t draw his attention away from the woman.

He tried to speak, but found himself unable to. It was as if something was wrapped around his vocal chords but for some reason he didn’t panic like he knew he should. Instead, he watched as the crying woman straightened up, looking in his direction, but the wailing continued as she stepped closer.

Merlin felt his magic coiling under his skin, desperate to break out and protect him from whoever this woman was, but, like him, it seemed to be forced back; unable to do anything but wait.

The woman inched closer, the obscured face slowly coming into view. Merlin’s eyes widened as white, soulless eyes stared into his azure orbs. He was trapped, he realized, there was nothing he could do. His magic was useless, he couldn’t even call out for help.

‘Oh God,’ He realized, ‘ I never got to tell Arthur the truth. And now I’m going to die.”

Suddenly his mind was somehow forced to focus on all the deaths he had been responsible for. It was like this...thing was drawing out every guilty thought and deed he had ever committed and he was terrified.

The wailing silenced as visions of death took over his mind. ‘Murderer.’ A raspy female voice spoke in his mind. He could hear someone screaming but it sounded so distant- oh it was him.

Once the visions of his deepest regrets finished burning his mind, the woman reached out before letting out an ear piercing wail, louder than any he heard before.

His breath caught in his throat, a haze forming at the edges of his vision as his head pounded inside his skull. ‘Arthur…’ He thought as his vision blurred, still unable to breathe.

“M..y… fau...lt…” He somehow spoke, not of his own accord, but it was his voice.

As he lost consciousness he could have sworn he heard a distant voice call out his name.  
_____________________________________

Arthur had been scared when he woke to the sound of screaming coming from outside. He rushed to the window to find Merlin, standing alone in the courtyard screaming as if he was being killed.

“Merlin!” He yelled out, racing down the halls as he passed guards who were already on their way to the source of the noise.

“Merlin!” He heard Gwaine call out from the entrance of the courtyard. As Arthur made it to the yard, he saw Gwaine holding a now unconscious Merlin, Leon standing to the side, looking around and sending guards out to look for intruders.

“Gwaine,” Arthur called out as he knelt next to the knight and servant, “What the hell happened here. What happened to Merlin?”

“I don’t know. I was coming back from the tavern- and don’t give me that look - when I heard screaming. I hightailed it here and barely made it in time to stop Merlin from cracking his skull on the stone.” Gwaine explained.

“Sire, I have the guards and all available knights searching for any intruders or anyone suspicious” Leon informed just before Percival and Elyan joined the circle.

“Is Merlin alright?” Percival asked, concerned for his young friend.

“We’re bringing him to Gaius right now.” Arthur replied as he took Merlin from Gwaine who let out a noise of protest but ultimately allowed the king to carry Merlin to Gaius’ chambers.  
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

“You can’t find anything wrong with him, Gaius?” Gwaine shot as he watched Merlin lie in the patients’ cot.

“He doesn’t seem to have been physically attacked, he also displays no symptoms of illness other than lack of sleep.” Gaius concluded.

Arthur nodded,” He said he hadn’t slept in at least three days before he fell asleep. He was out almost immediately after his head hit the pillow.”

Gwaine gave a wicked grin, “Oh, how do you know that? Did you come all the way here to put him to bed?” His grinned as the king remained silent, shades of pink tinting his cheeks and ears. Gwaine’s jaw dropped with realization.

“You let him sleep in your bed, didn’t you?!” Dark red let the knight know he was right.

“Way to go, Princess! I didn’t know you had it in you! How long has this little thing been official? And why didn’t you tell us, we’re supposed to be buddies.” Gwaine fake pouted, enjoying the shades of red Arthur was turning.

“It’s not like that!” Arthur defended, “He was so out of it that there was no way he would have made it back to his own bed without falling down the stairs.”  
Gwaine gave a knowing smile, “Whatever you say, Princess.”

Arthur groaned, “Whatever, think whatever you want. That’s really what happened.”

Without warning Merlin shot up, eyes wide. He seemed to be screaming but no sound escaped as his breathing seemed to halt in its tracks.

“Gaius, what’s going on?!” Arthur demanded, fear evident in his voice as he watched his friend struggle to breathe. Fearing the boy would pass out from lack of oxygen, Gaius rushed forward and in a quick motion, pulled his hand back and slammed it into Merlin’s back.

Merlin inhaled deeply from the shock before his breathing slowly began to steady out. Once the boy seemed to have calmed down Gaius handed the boy a glass of water.  
“Thanks.” Merlin gratefully took the glass before downing the contents. As he finished, he noticed the audience that filled the room.

Percival and Leon sat at the table while Elyan leaned up against the wall next to them. Arthur stood next to Gaius and Gwen was sitting in a chair next to his cot, hands folded in her lap as she gave him a relieved look.

“Merlin!” Gwen stated happily. “I’m so glad you’re alright. You gave us all a fright.”

“What happened?” Merlin asked in a daze, feeling as though he hadn’t slept despite being unconscious for who knows how long.

“I thought you could tell us, Merlin.” It was Arthur who answered, his arms crossed as he attempted to keep his face neutral, but Merlin could see the worry in the blue orbs and let out a small sigh.

“One minute you were sound asleep next to me- shut up Gwaine or I swear you’ll end up in the stocks for a week - then the next I wake up to hear you screaming your lungs out in the middle of the courtyard. Barefoot and jacketless no less.” Arthur explained.

The memories returned, but they felt muddled up in his brain, it felt more like a dream. Still he found the words leaving his mouth before he thought of them, “What happened to the lady? Is she okay?”

The room fell silent, confusing the young warlock. “What woman?” Leon broke the silence.

“There was a woman. She was crying in the courtyard so I went to check on her. She wore a tattered cloak.” The way Merlin spoke, he seemed uncertain if what he was describing was real or not. But the way those sightless seemed to penetrate his very soul, the feeling of every death he was responsible being dragged to the surface- being forced to relive every dreadful moment...It felt so real. It had to be.

“There was no one in the courtyard when I looked out the window.” Arthur pointed out.

“And I didn’t pass anyone and I came through only other entrance to the yard. She would have either ran into me, or the nights coming from the opposite way.” Gwaine announced.

Leon nodded as he added, “The guards searched every inch of the castle inside and out.”

“My boy, I think you might have sleepwalked. What you saw was merely a dream.” Gaius determined.

“The body tends to do strange things when deprived of sleep as long as you have.” Gaius added.

Merlin stared at the blanket on his lap, unable to believe what he was hearing but not coherent enough to disapprove them. Instead, “It felt so real.” was all he could say.  
“You need proper sleep, Merlin.” Gaius declared, holding up a familiar bottle of liquid.

“But-” Merlin tried to argue that he tried to sleep, but that woman kept him awake with her crying.

“No buts, Merlin.” Arthur cut in. “You’re gonna take the sleeping draught and get a proper night's rest. You have the morning off, but I expect you to bring me my lunch.”  
Merlin nodded, as the group began to leave, a timid hand gripped Arthur’s cuff. Arthur turned to Merlin who looked like he wanted to ask him something, but was unsure if he should.

“What is it?” Arthur coaxed, trying to keep the tiredness from making it sound like he was annoyed.  
Hesitating, Merlin mumbled under his breath.

“You’ll have to speak up. I can’t hear a thing you said.” Arthur chuckled, enjoying the rare side of Merlin. He knew exactly what the other boy wanted, but wanted to hear him say it aloud.

“Can...I come back...your bed…” Merlin asked, eyes glancing to look Arthur in the eyes.

From somewhere behind him Arthur could hear Gwaine cooing at the scene, saying things like, ”If you don’t properly court him right this minute I will!” but opted to ignore him in favor of focusing on Merlin.

“Duh, Who else is gonna keep my bed warm?” He replied, followed by whoops and yeahs' from Gwaine, who Arthur was seriously considering leaving in the stocks for weeks.

Luckily Leon seemed to get the cue and ushered a giddy Gwaine out of the room, followed by the rest of the grinning knights and smiling Gwen.

“Sleep well, Merlin.” She said before disappearing through the door.

Turning back to Merlin he found the boy looking down in shame. “What’s wrong, Merlin? You coming or not?”

“I’m sorry.” If Arthur hadn’t been listening he would have missed the soft voice.

“What for?” Arthur was genuinely confused.

“For asking you something like that with everyone around. I wasn’t thinking, you should have just told me no and saved yourself the embarrassment.” Merlin explained.  
Rolling his eyes, he replied confidently,” I’ll be sure to do that next time. Besides, it’s not like Gwaine didn’t already suspect it. And do you know how many times Leon has brought up our ‘poetry’ lessons? I am certain that man thinks that was code for something else.”

Merlin let out a snort of laughter and Arthur grinned that he managed to be the cause of it. It seemed like forever since he’s seen Merlin smile. Since he’s heard a genuine laugh from the raven haired boy.

“Come on. I’m missing out on my beauty rest because of you.” He joked, earning a devilish smirk from Merlin as the two exited the room.

“Oh we can’t have that. Not even the most powerful magic is enough to turn you from a toad to a handsome prince, though I guess we’ll never know since it’s illegal.” He didn’t know why it slipped out, he knew there was one way for this conversation to go and he knew the next words out Arthur’s mouth would rip his soul into pieces once more.

Without thinking Arthur shot back completely seriously, “Well it’s a good thing it’ll never be.” Unaware as Merlin froze, Arthur continued to walk before realizing the space next to him was empty.

Turning, he saw Merlin staring at the ground, fists clenched and held tightly to his sides.

“Merlin?” He questioned, worried about the sudden change over his friend, preparing to leap forward if the other should show signs of fainting again.

Looking back up, Arthur felt his breath catch when he saw it, that familiar forced smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. He didn’t realize until that very moment how often his friend’s smiles were forced and he wondered when was the last time prior to a few moments ago, he had seen a genuine smile not hidden between long periods of fake smiles?

“Merlin?” He repeated, concern growing every second his friend remained silent.

“You know, I think the potion is kicking in a lot faster than normal. It must be cuz of the lack of sleep. I think I’ll just turn into my own bed for tonight.” He tried to make it sound normal, tried to hide the shakiness of his voice as tears threatened to spill. 

Not bothering to wait for a response Merlin turned and disappeared back into the physicians chambers, leaving a stunned Arthur gaping at the retreating form.

Arthur stood in silence for a few moments before slowly making his way back to his chambers. Thoughts filled his head, trying to decipher the sudden change in Merlin’s mood. He thought back to his final comment before the change when something clicked.

He froze in his steps. Suddenly everything made sense in a terrible way. He had to be wrong, he prayed he was wrong. Somehow, though, he knew he wasn’t and it scared him. Turning around he fought the urge to rush back into the chamber and demand answers, but Merlin’s face flashed in his mind.

Tired eyes, desperately trying to keep a smile plastered on his face to hide a soul crushing pain. He could clearly see the bright eyes dimming over time but forcing a smile and constantly bringing a smile to everyone around him while hiding his own suffering.

Falling into bed, he gripped his hair lightly. How had he missed this? He could see the signs as clear as day. The fallen branches. Fully trained men dropping their swords or tripping over nothing. The close calls and ambushes they should never have been able to survive.

“Fuck.” He sighed, throwing his arms out to either side. “What should I do?” He questioned the empty room.  
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Arthur awoke to a knock on the door. ‘Why would Merlin be knocking?’ He questioned silently, calling out “Enter.”

Upon seeing a servant who was most decidedly not Merlin the events of the previous night came forth and the king thought he would be sick. Instead he pushed down the feeling of betrayal and hurt and continued the day like normal, sending a servant to inform Merlin he wouldn’t be needed for the day and to catch up on his sleep (not wanting Merlin to be suspicious of his intentions). 

He needed time to think and clear his head and he knew exactly who to go to for just that.  
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Merlin could lie and say it didn’t hurt when the young servant girl entered the room and informed him he would not be needed, but since when could he fool himself when he knew exactly what he felt. 

He found himself, once again, unable to sleep despite the sleep draught he had been given- and for once it wasn’t because of some random woman bawling her eyes out at ungodly hours of the night. 

He knew he panicked that night and ran away, probably looking really suspicious as he did so. But his mind had been so jumbled and the words had hurt far more than ever before.

He would have to come up with some reason for his behavior, because as oblivious Merlin liked to claim Arthur was, he knew the blonde warrior was deceptively smarter than that. And any idiot could have probably put two and two together after that spectacle. 

He had hoped Arthur would buy his story of not being able to make it to the king’s chambers, but after this morning he wasn’t so sure. 

He was too afraid to leave his room and decided to hide away as his tired mind supplied his mind with dark possibilities.

What was he going to do now?  
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Arthur smiled as the dark skinned woman entered his chambers.

“Gwenivere, thank you for coming on such short notice.” He offered formally.

“Please, Arthur, no need to be so formal. It was you who insisted I don’t call you by title when we’re alone.” She smiled.

“Right,” He cleared his throat, not knowing how to start the conversation.

Sensing his discomfort, Gwen frowned. “Is everything alright?”

Arthur sighed, motioning the woman to a chair as he sat in the opposite. “I’m not so sure.” He admitted.

“You know you can tell me anything. Is it about Merlin? Is he okay?” She questioned, the worry growing at the thought of something happening to her best friend.  
“No- I mean kind of- I mean...I don’t know Gwen.” He huffed, placing his head in his hands, frustrated that he couldn’t find the words.

Gwen stood and walked over to the king, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. The motion comforted him enough to where he found he could continue without worry of judgement.

“Gwen, I need you to be completely honest with me. And no matter your answer, know that you are completely safe from persecution.” He finally stated, his voice even, not betraying the emotion he kept pushing back. He needed to be level headed to make a sound decision.

Gwen, now nervous at how serious the king sounded, sat back down in her own chair. “Arthur?” She questioned where Arthur was going with this conversation.

“What do you think of Magic? Please be completely honest, I swear on my honor and on Camelot that no matter your answer, you will be safe.” He needed her to know, to believe. He needed an honest answer, not what others thought he wanted to hear.

Gwen fidgeted for a moment, unsure if she should answer or not. She realized the king’s answer to her concerns for Merlin and his sudden interest in magic may have been connected. If he suspected Merlin had magic and he was coming to her for her advice then she knew she owed it to both boys to be nothing less that honest.

Taking a deep breath, the servant girl looked the king in the eyes, showing him what she was about to say she meant with every fiber of her being.

“I will admit, I never thought anything of magic for the longest time. I didn’t want to be involved with it or anyone with it as it seemed to bring death for the barest mention of it. When I had been arrested for being suspected of having magic, I was terrified, but I I realized that someone with magic risked their own life in order to save my father.”

She thought back to how Merlin seemed to know of her father's miraculous recovery before she told anyone, then how he cried outside her cell, apologizing to her over and over and swearing he would get her out of there. Then she heard how he had ran into the council meeting only to confess in her stead.

“Well, at that time I could only thank magic for saving my father. And I thought, maybe magic wasn’t as evil as... everyone claimed it was.” She paused, feeling the next part would be hard to admit now knowing what she suspected to be true.

“Well, when my father was executed for conspiring with a sorcerer. I hated it, I hated how just simply aiding someone with magic was enough to have him killed. But even then I couldn’t blame magic. I blamed one person for his death and Arthur…” She paused, eyes never leaving the kings. “It wasn’t the sorcerer I blamed.” She admitted, noticing how Arthur seemed to tense.

“It’s alright, Gwenivere. Continue, please. I meant what I said.” Arthur prompted. He had to admit he had also found his father’s judgments of innocents who were unfortunate enough to be in the wrong place to be unfair. That included the execution of the blacksmith.

“Like I said, I wasn’t against magic, but I wasn’t for it. Fear is a strong deterrent. But when the Lady Morgana… when she turned against us, for the first time I hated magic. I thought it was pure evil to be able to turn someone as kind and selfless as her into such a cruel and evil monster.”

Genuinely curious, Arthur straightened in his chair. “You said you hated magic. Why? What changed?”

“I guess I did.” She admitted. “After things calmed down and I had time to think, well, I thought. A lot.”

“I thought about the laws. The fear and hatred she must have felt, living in a kingdom- in a castle- filled with people she believed would call for her death. Hearing over and over how magic was evil and all sorcerers were evil. How lonely she must have felt and I realized. What if it wasn’t magic that changed her?”

She looked Arthur dead on, all her conviction held in her gaze. “What if we were the reason she changed?”

Arthur’s eyes widened at the statement. “But...Why?” He asked. “Why would she choose to study magic if she knew the law? Why choose something that would make her feel so isolated and alone? It makes no sense.”

Gwen understood where Arthur was coming from, she had asked herself that question at first when she realized her friend was turning against them. But as her revelations came later one, the puzzle seemed to put itself together.

“She didn’t.” Was her court response. Arthur raised his brow questioningly.

“Arthur, for years, we watched as Morgana had dreams, nightmares. Her nightmares always seemed to come true. She didn’t ask for them. And all that time we all ignored the signs that maybe there was something more to them than just bad dreams. We ignored the times she came to us with fears of what was to come, and when they came to pass we just shrugged it off as a coincidence every time. And when I think back to it, I find I can’t blame magic for what she’s become. I blame the people who claimed to love and care for her, but let her feel so alone and angry that she felt the only person she could turn to was a sister no one knew about until it was too late. I blame us Arthur. Not magic.” She finished.

Arthur gaped at the information. Hearing it put so bluntly, even he found he couldn’t blame magic for at least Morgana’s betrayal.

“I mean, it makes sense. But what about the rest, Gwen? So many sorcerers and sorceresses have attacked Camelot, me. Magic killed my mother and father, Gwen? How am I supposed to believe it’s anything other than evil?”

Gwen sighed, expecting the argument to come up and carefully thought out her words before continuing. “While I can’t speak for the sorcerer who killed your father, there is something I noticed with many of the others. A pattern if you will.” She explained.

“A pattern?” Arthur asked, curious.

“Yes. How many times have you heard it Arthur? How many sorcerers shouted their motivations before being struck down? Come on, Arthur. You know the answer.” She pushed, wanting the king to realize on his own.

She could see the exact moment he began to realize as his eyes slowly grew as the information circulated.

“Revenge.” He whispered.

The woman nodded. “The people who have attacked seemed to have lost everything and had nothing left but revenge on the city, the man, who took everything from them.”  
Arthur sat back, letting the information soak in. The sun had long begun to set.

“I’ll let myself out, your majesty. You have a lot to think about I’m guessing.” She announced and Arthur nodded in approval.

“And Arthur,” She called back from the door before exiting, “Merlin doesn’t have an evil bone in his body. And if he can have magic and not be evil, then maybe that’s saying something.” The servant girl left the speechless king to his thoughts.  
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The next few days passed slowly for Arthur and Merlin. Merlin felt as though he was running ragged. The sleepless nights continued, the wailing never failing to awaken him even from drought induced sleep. He tried desperately to block out the sound but it always sounded as though the woman was screaming directly in his head.

Arthur, thankfully, seemed to be back to normal after the day of avoiding Merlin. The king seemed genuinely concerned with his inability to sleep and it comforted Merlin that his secret was still safe. But as the sleepless days continued he found himself wishing Arthur had found out and called for his execution, at least then he could sleep.

He found himself stumbling about the castle in a vain attempt to act normal and do his chores. He ended up stumbling into people left in right and even walked directly into a pillar on his way to the laundry room. 

He ended up in Gaius’ chambers nursing a bloody nose, courtesy of Gwaine who had witnessed the encounter with the pillar and forced the boy to get his nose taken care of.

“You gotta sleep, Merls. You can keep going on like this.” The concerned knight pressed.

“Don’t you think I’ve been trying!?” Merlin yelled out, rag still pressed to his bleeding nose. “Damnit Gwaine! Nothing works! I tried sleeping Droughts and I still can’t sleep. Unless you have something useful to offer then kindly keep your thoughts to yourself.” Merlin had been fuming by the end only to realize he had just yelled at his friend for being concerned.

“Gwaine…” He fumbled, dropping the rag in his disbelief. “I’m sorry...I don’t know what came over me.” He felt awful. Point blank.

“Merls.” Was all it took to draw Merlin’s attention. “It’s alright, buddy. I get it, you’re tired and stressed. I know you didn’t mean it. And even if you did, or even if you said worse, I’m not going anywhere. You spend all your time caring for others, it’s okay to let yourself be taken care of too.” 

It was like a dam broke as tears sprung forth, sobs breaking out unwillingly.

Gwaine wrapped the boy in a tight hug, “There there, just let it all out.” He continued to comfort the boy until said boy cried himself to sleep. Sighing at the state of his friend, Gwaine picked Merlin up and brought him to bed.

“Better go let the Princess know he’ll be needing another servant for a while.” He muttered, hating feeling so helpless. He knew something more was going on. It just wasn’t normal for someone to stay awake for so long even with medicine designed to force sleep.

He needed to get the Princess and Gaius to admit something more was going on and he didn’t plan to rest until he succeeded in curing Merlin from whatever was going on.  
________________________________________________________________

Arthur sighed, things were starting to look up. They managed to confirm the thing that linked the three victims. It turned out Katie had unintentionally caused the death of her childhood friend while the two girls were playing in the forest while the two families had been moving from Merica to Camelot. They had gotten too close to a river which had been moving faster than it usually would after heavy rains had flooded the area. Katie had slipped and knocked into her friend, causing the younger girl to fall into the river. The adults were unable to get to the child in time and she unfortunately drowned.

The family of the girl broke off contact with them and apparently, Katie had blamed herself ever since that day.

He heard from a few of the older knights that served with Cain, that the man had his own regrets as well. 

He blamed himself for failing to stop a bandit ambush from killing the family he and a few other knights were sent to protect as they made their voyage to a nearby village outside of the city of Camelot. He had been the sole survivor of the ambush and blamed himself for failing.

The story the women had told the king had been rubbish, he learned. After calling back the mother of Harold Manson, they were able to get the name of the men involved with the case. They revealed the fact that it had been the other boy who had been trouble. He had been in trouble with Camelot’s law more than once when he was young. The Hanson family had to call for guards a few times when the boy’s harassments became more threatening, but they were unable to arrest the boy for lack of evidence of wrongdoing. One day the boy had been seen in the tavern, using his large stature to pass as an adult, and got smashed. The rest of the story happened as he heard, only the attacker and defender roles switched. Apparently, despite being attacked by his former friend, the boy still harbored guilt for his death.

However, Arthur mused. They still had no clue who or what was killing people. They left no trace at any of the scenes. And he was dreading the next day. So far every killing had been exactly seven days apart and they only had one as today was the night of the sixth day.

Arthur hated the feeling of uselessness that overwhelmed him. He hadn’t felt so useless since his father was still alive and berating him for every choice he made.  
He kept flipping through the previous months' events. Trying to think of something they may have missed. That’s when something came to him.

If Merlin really did have magic, which he was certain of the fact now. If he really did have magic he might be able to find some trace that they couldn’t before. He needed to set aside his whirlwind of emotions and confront his friend right away. As he made to stand the doors flew open to reveal a very pissed off Gwaine.

“Gwaine.” Arthur questioned pointedly.

“Princess. We need to have a talk.” He stated bluntly.

Ignoring the nickname, Arthur replied calmly, “Can’t this wait, I need to go find my manservant and discuss some things with him sooner rather than later.”

Gwaine straightened. “Yeah, that’s what I was coming to tell you. Merlin is asleep in his room right now. Cried himself to sleep after walking straight into a pillar and damn near breaking his nose.”

Blue eyes widened at the information. “What!? Is he alright?”

“Yeah, yeah.” He replied before adding seriously. “But only with the nose. Arthur, this thing going on with him not sleeping, it isn’t normal. And I know you got things to worry about right now, but I’m worried that there is something more to it than just the inability to sleep. I’ve been watching Merlin since the night we found him outside, and he’s getting worse. He’s been snappy, unfocused, and can barely hold a conversation or stand without threatening to keel of form exhaustion. I get you a Gaius are busy trying to figure out this mess, but I’m worried if you don’t figure out something soon, we may lose Merlin. And I refuse to let go of my first friend, my best friend.”

Arthur gaped at the confession, he knew Merlin had trouble sleeping this week, but he thought the sleeping droughts had been working. Then again, with the investigation going on he admitted he may have skimmed over Merlin’s issue.

“You’re right.” Arthur sighed. Suck shitty timing. “I’ll have Gaius look into it closer, the nights and we won’t needing his help for the specific research we’re working on.” Gwaine lifted a brow in surprise, as if he were truly shocked it had been that easy.

“Glad you can see reason, Princess.” Gwaine grinned. “Maybe I should upgrade your nickname to Queenie.” He snickered.

Arthur growled disapprovingly. “Call me that and it’ll be the last thing you do, Sir Gwaine.” Gwaine shuddered at the title and nodded in understanding, humor still evident in his eyes.

Just as Gwaine turned to give Gaius the new orders the door once again burst open, only this time revealing a young girl with long blonde hair several guards rushing behind her. She looked to be no older than fourteen summers, her breathing was heavy and uneven, like she had run all the way through the castle.

“Let me go!” She cried out as the guard grabbed either arm. ”I have to see the king right now!” She struggled in their iron grips.

“We’re so sorry sire. The girl managed to slip around us after demanding an audience. We’ll escort her out and to the dungeons at your order my lord.

Arthur eyed the girl, staring at him with sapphire eyes pleading. “Release her. I’ll allow an audience this time. It seems as though you have something important to say?” The girl nodded.

The guards released the girl, who in turned turned to the retreating me, sticking her tongue childishly at them.

“You’re the Manson girl.” Arthur realized once the girl walked closer to the throne. Not wanting to leave, and admiring the girl’s bravery, Gwaine decided to hang around for a moment to see how this played out.

“My lord,” She started out.

“Please, call me Arthur. You may speak freely.” Arthur assured, Gwaine had found himself speechless many times when it came to Arthur Pendragon, always finding new ways to prove he was different from the rest of the lords and kings. Even if he was still a prat.

“My name is Amelia...Arthur.” She announced.

“Why have you sought an audience with me at this time?” Arthur questioned.

“You see...I would have come forth sooner...but… Well... Mother forbade me not to bring it up. That what he told us wasn’t real or was just a figment of his imagination. But about a week before his death he told us something.”

“What did he tell you, Amelia?” Arthur pushed, he wasn’t sure why, but he got the feeling whatever she had to say would give them the piece of info they were missing.  
“He said that there was a woman crying outside.” She stated. 

“He claimed he was woken to the sound of her wails but when he woke me and mother, we couldn’t hear anything. Mother said he was just hearing things in his sleep. But the next couple nights he claimed he could see a woman outside his window, wailing louder and louder. We tried to look but we couldn’t see her. Mother wrote it off as him seeing things, but the other day I heard rumors of other people dying the same way my brother died so I went and asked around. And people around them claimed the others heard and saw the same thing before dying. It can’t be a coincidence. Whatever killed my brother killed those other people, I know it!”

She finished, her breathing coming out in heavy pants. Her expression was sincere and she prayed they would believe her because if not, then someone else would die.  
Arthur considered her words for a moment before replying, “Amelia, I thank you for bringing this to my attention, I believe that you speak the truth-” He cut off mid sentence when the severity of his claims finally caught up with him.

Gwaine and Amelia looked at the king who seemed to grow paler and paler by the second.

“Arthur?” Gwaine carefully approached the king who sprung up from the seat without warning.

“Oh God,” He stated,” It’s Merlin!” Bolting from the room, the others all but forgotten.

Calling for a guard, “Make sure the girl gets home safely.” Gwaine ordered before racing after the king.

Catching up with the man who had yet to slow down Gwaine yelled out,” What do you mean ‘It’s Merlin?”

“The thing is after Merlin!” Arthur exclaimed as they turned the corner to find Merlin wandering the hall.

“Merlin!” Arthur and Gwaine yelled out, but the boy seemed to not hear them and continued to walk away.

“Shit!” Gwaine cursed as the two picked up speed.  
________________________________________________________

Merlin awoke, once more to the sound of crying. His heart pounded in his chest, demanding to get more rest.

The crying sounded familiar. Not like the one that had been haunting his nights. It was softer, familiar.

“Freya.” He breathed out, pulling himself out of bed. He mechanically made his way to the door, using his magic to open it.

“Merlin.” A second, male voice called out, pain heavy in his voice.

“Will.” He breathed again, desperate to get to where his loved ones were.

“Merlin.” Another, deeper, male voice called out.

“Father.” Tears dripped down his cheeks as he continued his journey, unsure where his feet were taking him, but certain it would be to Freya, Will, and Balinor.

He could vaguely hear his name being called, but he didn’t feel like responding. Like it would take too much effort to fight his feet to turn and acknowledge whoever wanted him.

They could wait, he decided.

When he felt several hands grabbing his arms all he could think about was his need to get to them. Without a second thought he allowed his magic to push out, sending the hands away from him.

He continued on his way.

He was unsure how far or how long he walked, the world around him was a blur of shapes and colors. He barely registered the feeling of cold, wet grass on his feet, even the chilly air no longer bothered him.

When he came to, he found himself standing at the Lake of Avalon. Looking around he tried to remember how he had gotten there, but his thoughts were cut off when he took in three figures standing near the bank of the lake.

“You’re here.” He breathed out.  
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Arthur had to admit, if he hadn’t put two and two together earlier this week, he would have been really hurt and angry when Merlin's glassy, unseeing eyes glowed a muddied gold as an invisible force sent Gwaine and him flying. Arthur crashed into the wall while Gwaine hit a nearby pillar.

Merlin continued to walk through the corridors. Arthur picked himself up into a sitting position, attempting to catch his breath. Arthur paled when he realized Gwaine had witnessed Merlin performing magic, though Arthur seriously doubted the sorcerer was in control at the moment, But still, he had no clue how the other man would react.

“Damn, Merls. Why you gotta do us like that.” Gwaine groaned as he sat up as well before staring at Arthur, the same thoughts running through his head.

“If you’re gonna kill Merlin, you’re gonna have to go through me.” Was his blunt statement.

“I’m not gonna hurt the idiot, Gwaine...Wait- You knew!?” He snapped.

“Well, duh, Princess. Not all of us are oblivious to flying plates in bar fights. Or conveniently timed falling tree branches. My question is how the hell did you find out and when?” He demanded.

“Now is not the time, Sir Gwaine. We have to catch up with the idiot. Somethings wrong with him.” Arthur stood, followed by the knight.

“No shit, see his eyes. They were all creepy and glassy. And the gold that usually shows up is so much brighter and pretty than whatever that was.”

“How do you- You know what, nevermind. Come on before we lose him.” The two took off down the corridor.  
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

By the time they caught up with Merlin he was making his way to the gates of Camelot, heading towards the forest. Arthur and Gwaine decided to stand by the warlock, to draw suspicion away. Playing it off as if they were following a lead, which wasn’t completely untrue, seeing as Merlin had now become the only lead they had.

The boy continued down the path in the forest and Gwaine kept waving a hand in from to Merlin’s non blinking, unseeing face. “Creepy.” He remarked. He tried yelling in the raven’s ears still getting no response.

Arthur fought to slap the knight upside the head, but left him alone. If his antics could snap Merlin out of whatever trance he was in then Arthur couldn’t find a reason to stop it. So long as they didn’t try to forcibly stop him again. His back still ached from the meet and greet with the wall.

After what seemed like hours, Merlin stopped in a clearing with a large lake. 

The water reflected the moon and stars, creating an almost celestial atmosphere.

“You’re here.” Merlin breathed out startling the king and knight out of their thoughts. Looking around, they couldn’t find any trace of anyone else in the field.

“It’s gotta be whatever the thing is.” Gwaine spat, hating that he could do nothing for his friend. The two watched on as Merlin conversed with whoever they couldn’t see.

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t save you.” He muttered, his shoulders slumping in a way Gwaine and Arthur hated seeing on their friend. 

Whatever this thing was, they would make it pay.

Merlin froze, feeling uncomfortable before stating, ”I’m sorry you died for me. It should have been me. I’m so sorry, father.” Arthur and Gwaine froze. Father? Gwaine had learned from Merlin early on that he had met his father once before he died.

Arthur didn’t know what to think. The last time he asked Merlin about his father, the younger boy claimed to never have met him. And now he had somehow not only met the man, but it also died sometime after.

They obviously needed to have a long talk when this is all over, he decided.

Things started to escalate when Merlin’s breathing picked up. Raising and falling in fast, uneven intervals as tears began to fall.

“No….I’m sorry.” He muttered, hands raising to grip raven locks as he repeated the phrase over and over, growing faster before the words blended together in a fit of broken sobs.

“Please stop…Freya” Arthur and Gwaine were beginning to worry as Merlin’s panic increased. “No, Lance, I never wanted you to die for me!”

“I didn't mean it! Morgana was….No... The dragon, he wouldn’t help unless….I had no choice! I didn’t want anyone to die!” He screamed out. The fight suddenly left the raven, seeming to accept whatever he was being told.

“I swear, I tried to heal you, Uther. I never wanted you to die!” Arthur felt his blood run cold.

Suddenly, Merlin tensed. It appeared as if a heavy weight had been piled on top of the boy as he sunk further into himself.

“I’m sorry...You’re right. It’s all my fault…I’m a monster- a filthy evil sorcerer...” He heaved out before collapsing. The two men snapped into action, catching the warlock before he could hit the ground.

There were many thoughts running through Arthur’s mind. Just what did Merlin feel was his fault and how was Morgana and the Great Dragon involved. And how was he connected to Uther’s death? He said he tried to heal him...But that wasn’t right, the person who tried to heal his father was Dragoon. 

How were they connected? Could Merlin have been? No that was crazy, Dragoon killed his father.

He’s missing something, but looking down at the pale and fragile boy, Arthur decided it didn’t matter at the moment. He needed to get Merlin out of the cold.

“Gwaine.” Arthur started only for the knight to remove his cape, draping it around the boy. Apparently they had been thinking the same thing.

“We need to get him back to the castle and to Gaius. Maybe now that we know what we know, he’ll be able to find answers.” Arthur explained as they raced back to the castle, Merlin resting on his back, head leaning on his shoulder and face pressed into his neck.

“Hopefully he finds the answer quickly, cuz it looks like we’re running out of time.” Gwaine glanced up to the sky, not turning shades of orange and pink as the sun began to rise, indicating the dawn of the seventh and final day.

“Damn it.” Arthur cursed, picking up his pace.  
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

They made it back to Camelot just as the sun rose just over the horizon. They didn’t hesitate to go straight to Gaius’ chambers.

They passed Percival and Leon who took in Merlin’s condition. Percy rushed off to find Elyan and Gwen while Leon followed the duo to the physicians’ quarters.

To say Gaius nearly had a heart attack when the king and knights burst into the room with an unconscious Merlin would be putting it lightly.

“Put him on the cot.” He ordered. As soon as the boy was situated he looked him over before turning to the group of onlookers.

“What happened?” He questioned but before Arthur or Gwaine could answer, Gwen, Elyan and Percival entered the room.

“Is Merlin okay?” Gwen asked.

“What happened?” Elyan added.

“Gaius,” Arthur went straight to the point, not wanting to risk wasting any more time, “What do you know of a woman who cries at night, but only a single person can hear or see her.” Gaius’ brow raised at the question, unsure he heard correctly.

Arthur desperately wanted to question Gaius about what he heard at the lake. Why Merlin believes he killed Uther. But he knew those questions could come later. He trusted Merlin, regardless of what he heard.

“The sister from the last victim came to Arthur last night and said her brother had heard and saw a woman screaming and crying outside his windows, the week leading up to his death. But any time she or her mother looked they couldn’t see or hear her. Apparently the other victims had the same experience the week leading to their deaths.” Gwaine explained.

Gaius’ eyes widened drastically. “You say the woman was crying every time?” Arthur and Gwaine nodded. “Were the victims involved in the death or deaths of others that they felt guilty over?” He continued.

“Gaius, do you know what this thing is?” Leon questioned as he stepped forward.

“I believe we are dealing with a banshee.” He explained, digging through the books on his shelf before picking one out.

He opened the book, flipping through the pages until it landed on the one he was searching for.

“There we are.” He pointed to the page, a drawing of what appeared to be a dead looking woman with long black hair, tattered white dress and white empty eyes sunken into frail bony features. Her skin resembled that of it’s victims.

“What is that?” Elyan asked, disturbed by the picture.

“A banshee is like a spirit. Only their sole purpose depends on the way they felt when they died. Usually a banshee is a woman, who warns people of the death of someone close to them. In those cases the woman will be crying while carrying an item of the to be deceased. She is not the cause of the death but is a warning of it.”

“But in other cases, the banshee is a malevolent creature. Seeking to punish those they believe deserve it. Usually preying on a person’s sense of guilt.

Like the former, they can only be seen by their target. But unlike the other, this one kills her victims herself in different ways.

In most cases they use their high pitched screaming to drive their victims insane, driving them to the point of suicide. Some choose to use their inhuman tongue to consume the victim’s brain, a very painful and gruesome process.” The group shuddered at the image.

“But none of the victims were killed in either of these forms.” Gwen pointed out, her stomach dropping the moment she realized her closest friend was being preyed upon by such a terrifying monster.

“Very rarely, a Banshee chooses to suck the life out of the victim, which is what I believe to be this banshee’s method. The reason why it is so rare is because it takes a lot of time. They have to allow the victim to hear their wails for six days.”

“Their wails have the ability to suck the life force from their victim, the more intense the wails the more energy it takes. This makes the victim start to hallucinate, seeing and hearing the people who they felt they failed the most. Usually it’s one or two, but in some cases,” He glanced sadly at his sleeping ward, “In some cases the victim has many.”  
Gaius, “The problem is with this method. The banshee is able to to trap the victim, securing no one could interfere with the process. When visible, including to those other than it’s victim, it has the ability that many sorcerers have. It can throw all of us away with a simple thought.”

Gritting his teeth, clenching his fists tightly, Arthur spoke,” How do we get rid of this thing, Gaius?”

Gaius gave the group a tired look, one that spoke volumes of the hopelessness he felt as he delivered bad news to patients.

“There is no known way to kill a banshee.” He revealed, gasps erupting around the room before everyone broke out in denial.

“There has to be something, Gaius!” Gwen cried out.

“There can’t be that much information on the damned thing and not have a way to kill it!” Gwaine snapped.

“There has to be something we can try, it can’t be unkillable.” Percival piped up.

“Gaius, please!” Chorus of voices blended until the old man had enough.

“Enough!” He yelled out, silencing the group instantly. “There is no knowledge on how to kill the thing because banshees in and of itself are a rare phenomenon. Anyone who has tried was killed in the process. If anyone had succeeded. We are lucky to even have the information to identify it.”

“But we can’t just let Merlin die, Gaius.” Arthur whispered, a feeling of hopelessness flooding over him.

Gaius sighed. “There is one thing we could try, but it’s risky, as the banshee doesn’t actually have a physical form. And the odds of you getting close enough to perform the act is low without a particular step.”

“What is it, Gaius! Whatever it is it’s worth a shot!” Arthur exclaimed determinedly.

Closing his eyes, he knew it was the only option they had, but one part of the plan required something he knew Arthur and most of the knights would disagree with.  
“Okay, well. First of all, your sword,” He gestured to the sword hanging in Arthur’s scabbard, “Is a legendary sword forged in dragon’s breath. It has the power to kill even the undead. However, it is unknown if it would work on spirits as they have no physical form. But it’s the best shot you’ll have of killing it.”

“This sword is that powerful?” Arthur questioned, raising the sword in his hands as he stared at the weapon.

“Indeed.” Gaius replied.

“But if what you said is true about the banshee, how would Arthur get close enough to it to cut it?” Elyan commented.

“That’s the other part…” Gaius paused. “There’s a...spell, one that can bind spirits for a short time.” He waited, bracing himself for the eruption of disapproval he was sure to follow.

“Okay, but who would perform the spell? None of us can use magic.” Gwaine stated casually.

“I don’t know,” Arthur continued as if magic wasn’t being suggested, “Anyone else here a secret sorcerer?” He turned to the group, with various degrees of shock and disbelief on each face, save for Gwaine and Gwenivere who smiled at the king.

“How about you, Gaius?” He turned to the shell shocked physician. “I know you used to practice magic before the great purge, but you think you could pull it off?”

The room was left speechless as everyone looked at the king as if he had lost his mind.

“Sire,” Leon spoke carefully, “Do you realize what it is you’re suggesting?”

Arthur rolled his eyes. “Look, recently I have come to the realization that my father may have been wrong when it came to magic. But are we seriously going to argue about it right now? We are running out of time and we have a solution right in front of us.”

“Besides, I’m king and what I say goes.” Gwaine whooped at the declaration, earning an eye roll from Arthur.

“Wait, you don’t look surprised, Gwen.” Elyan pointed out.

“Gwaine, I get, he’s always been the oddity when it came to...well everything.”

“Hey!” Said knight pouted.

“Arthur and I may have had a long talk recently concerning his view on magic.” She stated calmly.

Moving on, Arthur turned back the physician who stared at the king as if he were seeing him for the first time.

“You know?” He asked hesitantly.

“I figured it out. Yes. But that’s not important right now. Can you perform the spell, Gaius? We kindda don’t seem to have an abundance of identified secret sorcerers running about right now. And I seriously doubt Merlin will be up to casting it when he can barely hold up a sentence.”

“You have a point.” Gaius agreed. “I fear for the boy’s mental state when he awakens.” He admitted.

“What do you mean?” Gwaine asked.

“What I mean is, banshees are horrid creatures. This type in particular preys on the guilt a person feels. Often their hallucinations will include every person whose death the fear responsible for, that alone would be enough to damage someone. Depending on how many or how extreme the guilt, I fear even if the banshee were to somehow leave them alone- their minds would be irrevocably damaged.”

“You think Merlin could be one of those cases?” Gwen asked, fearing the answer.

“Merlin is a strong boy, both magically and mentally. He has carried the weight of burdens no man should ever have to bear alone. He has faced many challenges and tragedies since coming to Camelot. But I fear that may be his ultimate downfall in this case. I can only imagine the number of people Merlin would have seen. Five I know of at least. And every death he carries on his heart, constantly wondering what he could have done differently. How he could have saved them.”

The group fell silent, dread and heartache as they began to understand just how much they didn’t know about their friend.

“The only way to know for certain is to hunt down this banshee creature and wait for Merlin to wake up.” Gwaine announced.

“I’m afraid it isn’t that simple, Gwaine.” Gaius sighed. “A banshee only appears at night, and it will only show itself to its victim until it begins the final stage where it intends to kill.”

“So we have to wait until this creature is just about to kill Merlin before we can do anything?!” Gwaine stuttered, disbelief and refusal crossing his features.

“I agree, that is a really risky gamble, Gaius. Not only are we riding on the fact that Arthur’s sword might be able to kill a spirit, but for you to be able to bind it before it kills Merlin and to do so before it can throw us all away to stop us from doing anything.”

“Do you have a better idea?” Gaius rose his brow in expectation.

The knight fell silent.

“I guess that’s it then.” Gwaine announced, propping himself on the empty chair next to Merlin’s cot. “We just wait.”  
________________________________________________

The day passed by slowly in the cramped chambers. Arthur had sent Gwen home, not willing to put her in harm’s way- the dark Glare Elyan sent him as she argued to stay was more than enough incentive to get her out of there.

Merlin remained asleep throughout the day, discomfort plaguing his features more than once.

Gaius spent the day perfecting the spell, which Arthur admitted was strange to watch as the man who basically raised him in his father’s stead practicing magic in front of him. But oddly enough, he could see no evil in the gold eyes that he was used to seeing, instead they provided him with a sense of security and peace.

Percy and Elyan decided to rest up for the impending fight. Deciding that if something went wrong with the spell or if Arthur’s sword couldn’t kill the spirit, they would distract the banshee long enough for Arthur and Gwaine to get Merlin away from it and attempt to keep him alive til daylight. 

With any luck daylight would kill it while it focused on its target, hence why it only came out at night, they had offered.

Leon had left earlier to tend to the guards and knights, informing them Arthur would be indisposed for the day and was not to be disturbed. He had returned after completing his duties and now hung back with Gaius whispering about something Arthur couldn’t care enough to listen in to.

Eventually Arthur had found a permanent residence in the chair next to Merlin once he knocked the stubborn knight off it. Rubbing a hand gently through raven locks anytime Merlin began to squirm from a nightmare. 

His touch seemed to comfort the boy and he refused to let Gwaine's smirk deter him.

Arthur glanced out the window, the setting sun painted the sky in shades of dark blue, purple and pinks. The moment of truth drew closer.

He hated the idea of using Merlin as bait in a situation this dangerous, where the unknowns were many and the chance for success was low. He knew there wasn’t much choice, but he refused to let Merlin die.

As the sun disappeared further and further from view as the light grew dimmer and dimmer. Once the sun had completely vanished from sight, leaving the world outside shrouded in darkness.

They awaited the next few hours in a straining silence. Everyone was nervous due to the silence around them, but none wanting to break the silence. Unsure of what they could even say.

“It shouldn't be too long now.” Gaius Announced as the bell marked the midnight hour. “Most of the attacks took place not long after midnight.”

“Everyone ready up, we can’t be caught off guard. If it is around already, it can probably tell Merlin is being protected and will most likely get violent before we even know it’s there.” Arthur ordered.

“Everything is in place.” Gaius nodded.

“Good. No matter what, we can not allow this creature to continue on killing people. And we most definitely can not fail Merlin.” Everyone nodded in agreement. Merlin had protected them, that much they knew, now it’s their turn to protect him and they refused to accept anything less than victory.

Out of nowhere Merlin shot up in the bed, his eyes wide, darting around the room. He brought his hands up to his ears, squinting his eyes shut.

“Make it stop.” He whined out as he tried to block out the inaudible sound.  
_______________________________________________________

“Please. I'm sorry!” Tears fell from his eyes as the wailing echoes around him. It felt like his skull was being split open from the inside and no matter how he tried he couldn’t block out the sound.

“Merlin.” The loud wails drowned out the voice that tried to reach him.

“Please! Make it stop!” He yelled aloud, trying to make his own voice be heard over the woman’s cries. Wails turned into threats of penance. Of how he deserved everything he would do to him.

“Murderer.”

Yes, he was a murderer. He deserved death, he knew the only way to make up for all the death he caused would be to die. But, he didn’t want to die, at least he didn’t think so. No he was scared. He didn’t want to leave his mother or Gaius, or Gwen, or the knights…”Arthur” He heard his voice himself whine out when the king appeared before him. He could his the soft promises of protecting from the figure, drawing out all the sounds of wails, screams and cries. He forced his body to move towards his king, desperate to escape this hell.

He felt a pair of strong arms wrapping around him. He could barely make out a voice talking in his ear, feeling it more than hearing it as hot breath hit the skin of his hand while wailing grew louder and louder in his ears.

He forced himself to focus on the feeling of being held down. He knew he was struggling in the embrace. He couldn’t stay. He needed to escape, she was coming. She would kill him. He would probably deserve it.

“Please…” He sobbed staring at the figure of the blonde king ahead of him. “Please, let me go to Arthur. I have to get away. I know I deserve to die, I know I’m a killer and a monster….but” He choked back a sob that burned as he forced it bad,” I’m scared…I don’t wanna die.” He felt his breathing slow as it became harder and harder to get air.

The wailing in his ears turned to screams of rage which somehow was worse. But he found he couldn’t think of it, he found himself drifting into a state of blissful darkness.  
“Damnit, Arthur! Hurry! Kill the bitch! We’re losing him!” was the last thing he heard before slipping into the black.  
____________________________________________________________

As they thought, the banshee had realized Merlin was being protected. Gaius had been thrown into the wall seconds after casting the spell to trap the banshee, knocking the man unconscious instantly. Luckily the trap held and the creature was trapped within the circle.

Bad news, he had been knocked into the wall directly behind her.

The knights had been tossed about, being slammed dangerously hard into the walls and furniture. While they all appeared to be knocked out they seemed relatively unharmed, Arthur hoped. Arthur’s sword laid discarded across the room.

He needed to get to it, but the thing was immediately on top of the King, unable to reach outside the circle. Haggled and decaying flesh inches away from his own face. He had expected things not to go to plan, they usually never do.

What Arthur hadn’t expected was the banshee to look so familiar. His eyes widened in realization, trying to place a name with the face.

“Grace?” He mumbled remembering the same dark flowing hair. Her skin was now void of all moisture and sunken trap around her stretched out bones. Her eyes held no trace of life in them. 

If he hadn’t seen the woman up close the monstrous woman he easily could have missed the connection between the two. As one, while looking slightly sickly her physical beauty and youth shone through.

This however, he could only compare to a hag, something no longer human. The creature’s face contorted into that of pure rage, letting out a loud, inhuman hiss.  
“He is mine!” It demanded. “He will pay for the innocent blood he’s shed!”

She glared at Merlin who was no longer cowering on the bed, but instead staring back, as if he was being forced to hold her gaze.

It appeared as though the two were communicating without words. His thoughts confirmed when Merlin began to mutter.

“I know. I’m a murderer.” He choked out, his voice trembling in a way Arthur had never heard and never wanted to hear again.

“I deserve to die. To make up for everyone who died because of me.” Arthur’s blood ran cold. No that couldn’t be right. Merlin couldn’t want to die!

“But…” Merlin continued, tears rolling down his unblinking eyes. ”I don’t wanna die...I think?” He added, unsure.

“No.” He added more definitively, though his voice was still weak. ”I don’t wanna die...I’m scared…”

The woman’s face twisted in rage, as if she was losing the fight between Merlin and herself. Arthur could only hope that was the case. Realizing the banshee was distracted, Arthur inched as slowly as possible towards the sword, not wanting to draw attention to it. His attention drew to a moving figure across the room. 

Gwaine, he realized, had come to and was now hunched in a standing position, trying to analyze the situation.

Suddenly Merlin moved to stand off the bed, reaching out to the banshee’s outstretched hand.

“Gwaine!” Arthur yelled, throwing caution to the wind as he realized whatever hold she had on him was trying to get him to give into her completely. Gwaine seemed to read his mind, rushing forward.

“I’m scared.” Merlin admitted, and if that was all the reason he needed to be scared shitless. Merlin never got scared, or at least refused to admit when he was.  
“I don’t wanna leave mom. Or Gaius...Or Gwen...Or the knights…” He froze in place.

His throat clenched as fresh tears fell from Merlin’s dull blue eyes. He choked out, as if the words were enough alone to cause him pain. “I don’t want to leave Arthur.”

“Arthur.” He whined, his voice dropping to a degree that didn’t sound like his own as he took another step forward, hand reaching out to grab the banshee's shriveled one.

Luckily, Gwaine made it across the room just in time. Crashing into Merlin from the side. He locked his arms around the boy who began struggling and wailing at an inhuman frequency.

“Please…” He sobbed. “Please, let me go to Arthur!” He screamed out as he struggled to get to the banshee, arms reaching feebly to the creature.

“The bitch is pretending to be you!” Gwaine cursed. No wonder Merlin was suddenly so desperate to get to the monster.

“I have to get away. I know I deserve to die, I know I’m a killer and a monster….but” He choked back a sob that burned as he forced it bad,” I’m scared…I don’t wanna die.” 

Merlin began hyperventilating, His breaths becoming short and ragged, but with his lack of energy he quickly began losing the ability to breathe altogether. Gwaine cursed, panic flaring as he felt Merlin’s breathing slow steadily to the point where the boy got next to no air. His chest fell still and Gwaine yelled at Arthur who had just reached the sword.

The banshee began to move frantically within the circle, determined to reach Merlin, he noticed the floor around the glowing circle beginning to shift.

“Damnit, Arthur! Hurry! Kill the bitch! We’re losing him!” Gwaine yelled, causing the king to spring into action.

Just as the binding circle shattered the banshee shot forward towards the knight and warlock. Unwilling to let Merlin die, Gwaine turned his body from the banshee, as he curled over the unmoving form in his arms.

“I guess this is it, buddy. It was an honor to get to know you.” He muttered.

Just before the deformed hand could make contact with the knight, a flash of silver sliced through the appendage, sending it into the air before it evaporated into nothingness.

The banshee let out a pain filled shriek, backing away while clutching her arm. Her inhuman screams filled the air. Her head darted around and turned to flee. But before she could consider flying off, the shining blade sliced through its torso.

It let out one last screech, dissolving with the rest of her.

Arthur sighed in relief, glad the sword worked. He felt his world stop when it raced out of the circle towards Merlin. If he had been a second later.  
No, he halted those thoughts. He made it and Merlin would be alright.

“Merlin!” Gwaine's horrified scream drew the king’s attention immediately. Throwing the weapon to the ground, Arthur raced to the bed where Gwaine was administering mouth to mouth in a desperate attempt to get Merlin breathing.

By this time the rest of the knights began to stir and picked themselves up.

Hearing the distress, Percival rushed over to the three men.

“What happened? He questioned, knowing from the panicked look Arthur wore while Gwaine continued his actions on an unconscious Merlin.

“I don’t know.” Arthur breathed, hand running through his hair in an attempt to keep himself calm. “He just stopped breathing.”

Leon approached carefully, “Elyan’s trying to wake Gaius now.”

Seeing Gwaine’s vain attempts he shoves the knight away. “Stop, you’re doing it wrong. You could cause more damage pushing from there.” He started to continue from where Gwaine left off, making sure to tilt the boys back slightly as he pinched his nose closed.

“Please, Leon.” Arthur choked out, uncaring of the tears falling freely down his face. “I can’t lose him. I can’t.”

Leon knew he couldn’t fail here, he loved the boy, they had become good friends over the years- bonding over their obsessive need to keep Arthur safe. And while Merlin seemed perfectly fine with sacrificing his own life for Arthur time and time again, he knew it would kill the king faster to lose Merlin.

“Percy, get Arthur out of here, now. Gaius will need all the space he can get and Arthur doesn’t need to be here for this.” Percy nodded.

“Elyan!” Leon yelled before continuing administering CPR to the warlock.

“The dark skinned knight called back,” He’s awake!”

“Come on, sire.” Percival coaxed. Arthur shook his head, not wanting to leave.

“I won’t leave him, Percy! I can’t.” He declared, unwilling to leave Merlin’s side. He needed for Merlin to be alright.

“Sire, you need to give them space to work.” Percy tried to reason.

“No! I am the king and I will remain right here until he starts breathing again!” He demanded, his breath picking up as he felt the knot in his chest growing as the fear of Merlin dying with him not by his side grew. No, he wouldn’t leave merlin!

Without thinking, Percy let his hand fly. Skin connecting with the king’s cheek. The king stared at the large knight, his eyes wide not from the pain but simply in utter disbelief.  
“Arthur, I know you love Merlin, we all care about him. But you need to leave now. You’ll only be in the way once Gaius can get his bearings enough to tend to Merlin. The best way for you to help right now is to give them space.” Percy grabbed Arthur’s shoulder gently and was glad when the king allowed himself to be led out.

Gwaine gave a grave look to Leon, who continued his treatment. “You save him, you hear me? He doesn’t deserve to die.” He knew it was wrong to put such pressure on a man doing everything he could to save a friend, but Gwaine couldn’t think of anything but the fear of losing his best friend when they finally managed to get rid of the damned creature terrorizing him.

Deep in thought, the drunken knight left the room.  
__________________________________________________________

Arthur felt his nerves growing with every passing hour no one exited the physician’s chambers.

He had been more than tempted several times to burst back in and demand answers. To see Merlin awake and most importantly alive. But the glare he received from the normally gentle giant was enough to make the king bow his head in shame and stay put. Gwen had arrived not even an hour after he had been ushered out of the room, lending her assistance to the physician. Gwaine had long since left for the tavern, claiming he couldn’t face losing his best friend sober.

For once the king agreed with the drunkard. He himself felt he could go for a drink or five. But he refused to leave his spot outside the room. He felt like a child again, waiting outside Gaius’ door while he had a patient he couldn’t have disturbed.

The waiting was hell even back then.

The waiting, he decided, he hated more than anything. He needed to know if the man he loved was alive at least. Percy seemed to be getting anxious as well, and Arthur realized it wouldn’t be long before even he would be unable to resist the itch to check in.

"I apologize for striking you." Percy spoke, his voice quiet and painfilled.

Arthur sighed," No, you were just doing what you could." Percy nodded before they fell back into silence.

Just as he thought he would have to break down the door it opened, a tired looking Leon nodding his head into the room. Arthur never felt so nervous to enter the room before in his life. 

Not even when he thought Morgana was dying from a head injury.

He slowly inched into the room, Gaius and Gwen’s backs obscuring the patient cot.

“Gaius?” He mumbled, afraid to speak any louder. 

The old man turned to the nervous king. If he thought Leon looked tired, Gaius looked near death. But the man seemed to wear a small smile and that was all Arthur needed to see before he was working his way past the two.

Merlin laid silently on the bed. His skin was pale but Arthur was relieved to see the subtle rise and fall of his chest under the blankets.

“He’ll be alright?” He asked, holding the raven’s hand, rubbing soft circles with his thumb on his palm.

“I believe so, sire.” Gaius replied. “I expect him to be out for a while, with everything that happened and his lack of sleep, I believe he’ll be needing to catch up on it.” Arthur nodded.

“We’ll leave the two of you alone for a bit.” Gwen offered.

“Is there anything you need, my lord?” She asked.

Thinking back to the encounter, he knew there was some questions that needed to be answered. “Actually there is.” He turned to his first knight.

“Sir Leon, there was a woman that lives in the lower town. She seemed close to Grace, the thing that attacked Merlin. Have someone locate her and bring her to the throne room as soon as possible.”

Leon nodded and bowed before leaving. Soon after the room was left with only the two occupants. 

“Wake up soon, idiot.” He whispered, brushing the damp locks from the raven’s closed eyes.  
______________________________________________

It was later that evening when Arthur heard from Leon.

“Your Majesty, we have tracked down the woman. We found a suspicious looking shrine with a book we believe is for spells inside her home. It appears to have been used for some sort of ritual.” Leon reported from his kneeling position below the throne where his king sat.

The king nodded, face hard, “Bring her in.”

Leon stood and turned to the door, briskly making his way into the corridor.

“Bring her in.” He repeated and was followed back in by a guard holding the arm of Lilith, whose hair was no longer pulled up but fell haphazardly to her shoulders. Large strands stuck up in random spots on the sides of her head, as if she had been pulling at it recently. Her auburn eyes held a deep sadness that seemed to have aged her by years over the course of a few days.

The guard assisted the woman to her knees before bowing and exiting the room.

Arthur stared down at the unmoving woman, “Lilithian Webb, I believe you are aware of the reason you are here?” 

A nod was all he received in response. “You are going to explain everything you know about the banshee. Then I shall pass proper judgment for your crimes against Camelot.”

“I couldn’t let her go.” came a hoarse, raspy voice. “She was so desperate to believe her son was perfect, she ignored all the signs...all the things he’d done. I never had the heart to say any different, not when she looked so happy talking about him.”

“When he died, Grace just shut down. She would just lay in bed all day. I cared for her everyday, just hoping she would come back to me.” She paused before letting out a deep sigh. 

“Five years she stayed that way. However, two years ago she came back to herself while I was out in the market.” She choked back a sob.

“She took her life. I found her as soon as I entered my home.” Arthur’s brow rose.

“She looked very much alive when my manservant and I talked to you two. I can only assume magic was involved in this feat?” Arthur accused, his voice remained low and even.

The woman tensed. For the first time since being brought in she raised her head, sad eyes staring at the king,”I couldn’t live without her.” 

The first knight gave the king a look before turning his attention back to the woman.

“She was my everything. It nearly killed me when I found her.” The king noted a glint of something dark cross her eyes.

“No,” She spoke through gritted teeth,” I couldn’t lose her. Not again. Not a third time.”

“I kept her hidden in her room and spent the last year searching for a way to bring her back to me. And I found it! A ritual that could bring back the dead! I didn’t care how it worked, only that it worked. She was back! She was alive once again!” 

“Were you aware that she was killing innocent people because of your actions.” Arthur questioned. 

‘There.’ He thought when a crazed grin formed on the woman. ‘Her true colors.’

“Not at first, no.” She answered. “I noticed she would disappear at night but I would never question her, not when she finally returned my feelings after all these years.”

“When I heard of the upper town girl, I did suspect Grace of being involved and confronted her. She told me the girl was a murderer. She told me how when she came back, she was somehow able to sense things about people. Their guilt, their sins. She said that she needed to rid the world of evil. And I agreed, if it wasn’t for that boy I would never have lost Grace.”

“Did you know she was targeting my manservant?” 

The woman gave a smirk, “So it was the boy? I had wondered which of you she had set her sights on. Though I have to say, I’m surprised it was the boy, he doesn’t look like a murderer- but I guess you can’t judge a book. It’s a shame such a cute young lad had to die.”

Two sets of brows rose. “Merlin will be fine since we’ve managed to kill the creature hunting him. He’s currently resting as we speak and is expected to make a full recovery.” Arthur informed, waiting for a reaction.

Brown eyes widened, “What?” It felt as though her chest was constricting violently. “YOU KILLED HER?!” She screeched, hands on the floor to hold herself up.

Without hesitation, the woman burst forward, hands outreached as she began chanting in unknown words. Her eyes glowed a vibrant gold as the king began to choke, the feeling of strong hands gripping at his neck.

“I’ll kill you! She was innocent! You and everyone else in this accursed city are evil! You’re the murderers! Not Her!” She continued her attack, increasing the invisible pressure. 

Just as black began to seep into his vision, he felt the pressure immediately disappear. 

Gasping to get air, the king forced himself to breathe normally. He noticed the woman now laid motionless on the ground, Leon standing above the body with a bloodied sword. 

“Your majesty, are you alright?” He asked, concerned for his king and friend.

Arthur nodded, “Have the guards escort the body out of the castle for disposal.” He ordered, just ready for the day to be over with. Leon nodded and left.

Arthur stood from the throne, stepping past the body with barely a glance. 

___________________________________________________________

Just a little over a week had passed with no change. Arthur had been assured by the physician that Merlin would be fine, that his body had been under a lot of stress and was still healing. But the king still felt an overwhelming worry.

He had just finished breakfast and had the current servant tending to him take the dishes away when Gwaine burst through the door.

“Sir Gwaine, what is it that’s so important that you couldn’t knock.” Arthur sighed.

The knight smirked. “I mean if you don’t want me to bother you I could always come back later.”

The knight was met with an unamused glare and shrugged with a grin.

“He’s awake.” Was all the knight had managed to say before the king was rushing from the chambers.  
_________________________________________________________

Arthur burst through the door to the physician’s chambers, drawing several heads in his direction. Apparently, everyone seemed to have heard of Merlin’s awakening and beat him to the room. 

“Hey, clotpole, where’s the fire?” A tired voice came from the bed. And gods, Arthur never thought that insult could sound so beautiful. Merlin laid propped up in the bed. He looked every bit as dead as he probably should have been.

He noticed Merlin was shirtless under the blankets with bandages covering his torso. But that wasn’t what drew his attention. No it was the large red burn scar peeking out from the gauze that stunned him.

Merlin followed the blonde’s gaze and tensed before covering it with the blanket. As if that made what he saw disappear. But Arthur decided it was meant for another time.  
Instead he sat on the bed next to Merlin, running a gentle hand through black hair. Merlin closed his eyes as he relaxed to the touch.

“Merlin.” Arthur muttered, his voice low, almost a growl.

Opening his eyes, Merlin saw Arthur staring at him, his expression hard and dangerous.

“Arth-” His voice cut off his lips on his. He closed his eyes, allowing the kiss to deepen as he felt Arthur’s tongue poke at his bottom lip. The kiss was a short one, but intense nonetheless.

It held every emotion Arthur had felt the last few days. The fear of almost losing him, the anger that Merlin had been forced to suffer so much alone, the pain he felt when he thought he had lost his other half for good. But most of all, Merlin could feel the love Arthur held for him.

Arthur pulled back, allowing the two to breathe. “Don’t ever scare me like that again, do you hear me?” His voice deeper than Merlin had ever heard it, there was a raspiness to it that sent a chill down his spine….but in a good, intoxicating way.

“I can’t bear to lose you, Merlin.” He admitted flat out, not caring if he was being watched. And Merlin felt a very familiar sensation.

He loved Arthur, he’d know that for a long time. But with all of his lies and secrets, he had held himself back, believing Arthur would be better with someone who wasn’t a monster.

But in this very moment, with Arthur’s intense azure eyes staring him down, Merlin couldn’t look away. Couldn’t think of anything other than Arthur. Maybe...Maybe he could love all of Merlin?

He was tired of all the lies, he just wanted the man in front of him and Merlin found, he was completely willing to take the biggest risk of his life for this man.

Swallowing down the lump forming in his throat, nervousness seeping through his bones. ‘Here goes everything.’ he thinks.

Taking a deep breath Merlin spoke, his voice clear and steady and stronger than he felt, “Arthur,”

The king gave a hum of acknowledgement, seeming to know what Merlin needed and more than willing to give it to him.  
With an audible breath he thought, ‘No turning back now.’ 

“There’s something I have to tell you.”


End file.
